Showtime....

2005-02 - (May) Update
Just wanted to give an update on our little angel, 2-3/4 years old and using her Ci (bi-lateral) now for 6 months.

It's going great. She's talking away to herself and her dolls, to us. Not that we got to a point that we want to shut her up, but then again, I don't think that time will come.

Today we went to a concert where our son, 8 years, would be singing. Lotte got her own chair and enjoyed it.
In the beginning a piece of Astero Piazzolla, beautifull South American music. (I can recommend this) and she was totally concentrated. Indicating that there was a man playing, and a women. Not sure if she indicated who made the sound, I don't think so.
But these are the special moments, when you sit there with your deaf child and see her concentrated on listning. It's magic.
Other beautiful moments is when she hears music and dances. She has a sister a rolemodel, so copying that goes well. But now she starts by herself. Hearing alarms, recognising the telephone and so on. She tries hard to repeat sounds and manages well at times. She has a great speech therapists who - I think - has her as sort of a private project. (First girl in Norway operated on both sides at the same time, plus she will have to learn Norwegian AND dutch AND continue with sign..

Noticing Sound
She enjoy's the CI. Put's it back when they fall off. At least when she notices. She's not at a stage where she misses sound. She can go on with both CI's loose.
FYI, instead of a microphones behind the ears in combination with two bodyworn processor, we opted for 2 BTE's that she carries on her shoulders. It's working really well.
Next mapping she will get the latest BTE's of Cochlear. She's allready got the latest electrode implanted but uses the old type BTE.
(AllDeaf)

Benefits of bi-lateral

She once had one of her processors broken, and then she had CI on just 1 side. But this is already a big plus... she could still hear. Without bi-lateral CI, she would have been without sound.
In that time we noticed that with 1 CI she could not hear us as well. Noise was a real problem then, whereas with 2 CI's she has no problem following a conversation in the car or in the kitchen.
Also the sense of where sound comes from is helped with 2xCI. When hearing on 1 side, other senses and logic will determine where sound comes from. Bi-lateral CI will help a lot.

Regarding an additional operation.... I have seen children in Lottes school that got a second one after 1 to 2 years of CI. This means that in order to stimulate the new CI-side, the other side has to be disconnected. This can be really frustrating for these children. I'm really glad that Lotte got both sides at the same time, so we don't have that problem. But, realize that the additional benefit of a second CI is definitely there and I feel it is more than often suggested in articles and by the medical professionals.
BUT it is still small compared to the benefit of the first CI. THAT benefit is huge.